Shrewsbury Town vs Chelsea FC (1-2) : Blues’ Player Ratings

Chelsea visited an in-form Shrewsbury Town and won comfortably, courtesy to Didier Drogba’s well-taken goal and an own goal by a Shrews’ defender. The match was well contested as we saw the home side take the battle to their illustrious opposition. We witnessed Chelsea’s younger lot play and perform well in wet conditions on a rather poor pitch. Here are the ratings for Chelsea players:

Petr Cech: Rating – 8/10

He played well for most part of the match and accurately read most of the through passes and crosses. He made a few decisive saves, but was unfortunate in the second half and conceded a goal in a penalty box scramble when Mikel failed to mark the scorer.

Andreas Christensen: Rating – 8/10

The debutant played well in the sudden adoption of Right Back position against Shrewsbury Town. Naturally a center back, Christensen managed to get involved offensively as well as defensively in the demanding Right Back spot. His passing was impressive.

Kurt Zouma: Rating – 8/10

Zouma was a tower of strength in the defense line. He was composed on the ball and kept the passes rolling whenever the ball needed to be rotated in the defensive regions. He kept the Shrewsbury strikers at bay with some close marking and great focus throughout the match.

Gary Cahill: Rating – 8/10

He was the senior in the defense line and did the marshalling job pretty well. Executed the plan pretty well in maintaining the high-medium defensive block that Chelsea had planned for the match as the home team were pretty aggressive and trying to counter attack.

Filipe Luis: Rating – 8.5/10

He played exceptionally well as a top quality offensive fullback. He was involved in many attacking moves and provided much-needed width, and support to the Chelsea build ups. He was very energetic as he manned the left flank with supreme authority. Would give Azpilicueta a run for his money if he continues his form for the coming games.

John Obi Mikel: Rating – 6/10

He had a pretty average to rough night against the Shrews. He started off decent as he did his job pretty well until he suffered a knock. He has already been struggling with some fitness issues before this match, and he struggled through the second half with his reactions and responding. He was responsible for poor marking that led to the equalising goal for the Shrews.

Nathan Ake: Rating – 8/10

Ake was energetic, hungry and pretty good. He played well and grabbed his opportunity against a physical Shrewsbury team. He outshone Mikel in his role and was ubiquitous in offensive build ups as well. Overall, it is an assuring performance from the young Dutchman, he can be used for some Premier League games as well. He earned a yellow card in the match for sheer rush of blood when he slid in for a revenge tackle, which was one blemish in an otherwise perfect performance.

Andre Schürrle: Rating – 6.5/10

Schürrle was present in offensive areas trying to get in behind the defense line, but he wasn’t involved in decisive buildups. He was inconsistent in the match but was not bad. The German worked hard, and it was a good match coming up from Flu.

Oscar: Rating – 8.5/10

Oscar played well and was consistent throughout the game and was involved in all build ups. His work rate was phenomenal as well. He never faded out in the match and played delightful one-twos and combinations with other players in the game. This was a thorough playmaking performance by the young Brazilian trequartista.

Mohamed Salah: Rating – 7/10

He was involved in most of the attacks and was full of energy and work rate throughout the match. His pace was a problem for Shrewsbury defenders. But the Egyptian struggled to convert some chances he had and was not decisive enough despite being involved in extremely good attacks. He did provide a neat assist for Drogba.

Didier Drogba: Rating – 9/10 (MOTM)

He played as a true center forward and proved to be a genuine goal threat. He was the focus of the attacks and grabbed a goal and was the one who led to the own goal that gave Chelsea the lead. Signs are that he is returning to full fitness, and we all know that he is a hungry striker.

Subs:

Willian: Rating – 8/10

He replaced Salah and had a great flair moment when he caused the own goal. He was energetic and dangerous with his passes and combination with Oscar.

Nemanja Matic: Rating – 8/10

He replaced struggling Mikel and put on a calm and assuring performance as usual. His ability to pass the ball accurately under pressure is top notch.

Eden Hazard: Rating – N/A

He came on in stoppage time for Oscar as a routine substitute. Cannot be graded because of lack of time on the pitch.